The Grand Terrace Titans will venture away from home to take on the Rialto Knights at 3:45 p.m. on Wednesday. Grand Terrace's pitching crew has only allowed 3.2 runs per game this season, so Rialto's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Grand Terrace's hitters will try to repeat the strong performance they gave on Monday, when they got past Jurupa Valley's usually-dominant pitching crew. Grand Terrace was the clear victor by a 10-1 margin over Jurupa Valley.
Noe Villanueva tossed a big game, pitching 6.1 innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. He has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Grand Terrace got a massive performance out of Vasili Kazaltzes, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI, one triple, and one run. Those three RBI gave Kazaltzes a new career-high. Ezekiel Jahen was another key player, scoring a run while going 3-for-4.
Meanwhile, Rialto didn't have quite enough to beat Temecula Valley on Wednesday and fell 5-4. The match marked the Knights' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
Rialto saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Izzeah Zepeda, who went 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Grand Terrace is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a massive bump to their 7-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. Rialto's loss ended a five-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 5-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Grand Terrace has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Rialto struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Grand Terrace beat Rialto 4-1 in their previous matchup back in March of 2024. Will Grand Terrace repeat their success, or does Rialto has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
